Credit Card Breach At 500+ Restaurants

More Than 500 Restaurants Are Victims Of A Credit Card Breach

If you've eaten at Rainforest Cafe, Morton's The Steakhouse, or Bubba Gump Shrimp Company since May 2015, you might want to review your credit card activity. Landry's, Inc., which owns more than 500 national restaurants, including the chains listed above, announced Thursday that its restaurants have been victims of a credit card breach.

Last week, sources in the banking industry told Krebs on Security that they'd found patterns of credit card fraud. The sources figured out the fraud patterns were related to cards used at various restaurants owned by Landry's, Inc., which is based in Houston, TX. According to Landry's official statement, the compromised information may include cardholders' names, card numbers, and the cards' expiration dates and internal verification codes. The compromised information has been used to make fraudulent purchases at big-box stores such as Target and Best Buy, according to Krebs.

Eater explains that restaurants can be "particularly at risk for credit card breaches," because credit cards leave the owner's sight during the payment process, many restaurants have outdated point-of-sale machines, and restaurants can process credit card payments in a variety of ways.

Landry's issued a statement Thursday that it has employed a "leading cybersecurity company" to investigate the breach. For a full list of restaurants that may have been affected by the breach, check out the Landry's website.